Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year fresh off a grade II romp a week earlier, breezed a half-mile in :51 1/5 at Churchill Downs on June 21, as the weather felt like it was the first full day of summer.

Although there were no grade I races in the this past weekend, we did kick off the second season for 3-year-olds in rousing fashion and caught an early glimpse of the possible European challengers for the Breeders' Cup.